Verse 13:
“I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you, in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I had among the other gentiles.”
In general I believe that words are different for a reason and the choice of the word is foundational to what needs to be said. This is the reason for the many translations of the Bible because a word in Greek or Hebrew can be translated with words that seem similar but used in ways to convey the meaning of the verse. Harvest can mean a harvest time that Paul wanted to celebrate with the Romans or it could mean the harvest of converts that may have been obtained through the preaching of the gospel. One points to the level of love that Paul had for those in Rome, the other points to his desire to continue his work with the romans just as he said earlier in verse 11 and 12 reiterating the mutual encouragement of faith. That all being said: the point is that I believe that the scriptures have practical meanings as well as spiritual. They have literal meanings as well as metaphorical. Ultimately they all will point to God in some meaningful way and help in our understanding of His very Nature.
Harvest: GR = karpos: “It actually is translated as fruit in the Greek: the meaning being the fruit of the trees, vines, of the fields. It also means the ‘fruit of the loins’ which is offspring. It also means the result of work or effort, the effect, or result which is everything we think of professionally or vocationally but the added meaning is the result from praises which are presented to God as a thank offering: meaning that when we are grateful and have the feeling of thankfulness in us because of God working in us we bear fruit in the form of praise. Fruit is also those that are gathered into life eternal: those saved by God for all eternity.”
“The added meaning to ‘harvest’ becomes apparent in what the term would be used for in the NT. Its also used 56 times and in verses such as Mat 3:8 for bearing fruit worthy of repentance” meaning that the actions we do show that we are truly repenting of our sins and behaviors.”
It is important to study and understand the words that bible was originally written in. Hebrew itself is very simple in its character variety and so the words combined (in what we would call a sentence or paragraph) are dependent on each other to provide the context for what is being said (from my understanding). Greek, which the NT was written in, on the other hand, as far as I can tell, is broader and richer in its vocabulary than our own language and has its context wrapped in the words that are used.
I am sure in the common speech people used inaccurate words to describe what they were trying to say, just as today, but the NT was written by men and inspired by the Holy Spirit and each word had been chosen specifically to add depth to each verse. For example:
Mind of flesh in Romans 8:6 NKJV
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Carnally: GR = Sarx: carnally, flesh.
To be minded: GR = Phronema: What one has in the mind, the thoughts and purposes: only used 4 times and in only Romans 8.
“As far as my mild research into the words, the key here is the word mind. This word Nous is different from Phronema in which it seems to encompass the capabilities of the mind or brain but Phronema seems to have emphasis on a ‘focused view’; a determined intention to what the mind is focusing on. The point being that Phronema aren’t the idle thoughts that we have but intentionality to focus on the Spirit. But Phronema doesnt seem to have an orientation: meaning it isn’t like the word good or happy, or spiteful or berating that obviously mean either good or bad without having to add an adverb or adjective. That being said Phronema can also mean a mind that is left to the flesh will have that same focused attention.”
“Practically speaking, if my understanding is correct, we would Phronema by having a quiet time with God without distractions but what’s odd is that we don’t usually set time aside for lustful thoughts or selfishness in the same manner. Most of the time we are deep in our own worries, responsibilities, cares, plans for free time, etc and these thoughts do tend to be… I guess, almost automatic. Phronema would most likely be after a time of these continued idle thoughts that are automatic turning into intentional fancies that we cannot let go of easily. These aren’t idle thoughts that come and go but the lingering ones we do not push away and then take our focus.”
“In this context it does seem that the flesh either takes over in a effortless way till it overcomes us or we take control of the flesh to place our focus on the things of the Spirit. The hard part about this process is that idleness leads to Phronema of the flesh without any effort and it takes Phronema right from the beginning to pull us to God which should get easier with time. Maybe this is why Sin is always something that we have to struggle with, why it was impossible to ever live a sinless life, the reason why Jesus had to come, and why He left the Holy Spirit to aide us in our daily lives as He continues to sanctify us?”
“I guess the question is how controlled are you and how much are you in control? This takes reflection over and over, possibly each day to assess how much you were in control of what you decided to do and what to focus on.”
“Something else to note is the fact that this particular word is only used in Romans in reference to the carnal mind and the mind of the Spirit which is important because even though we have similar words in our English dictionary for carnally or minded, they would be inaccurate if they were used to describe what Paul is talking about in Romans 8. Truth be told that we use words inaccurately all the time anyway and we use words synonymously with others that take away from the actual meaning of what we are trying to say.”
“On that note I was surprised to find that humiliation was a term used to describe a day set aside by Abraham Lincoln for the American citizens to humble themselves to God in repentance. I had always known humiliation as a sort of ridicule or derision of one person to another. It does mean that at times but humility is the root word and this is the state of understanding you know less then you actually may think at times: you are not as in control.”